


keep me grounded

by bangyabangya



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Anxiety, Changpil, Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluid Relationships, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Panic Attacks, Polyamory, a supportive family, changlix, dad Chan, dad Woojin, hyunmin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2018-06-28
Packaged: 2019-05-29 17:24:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15078074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bangyabangya/pseuds/bangyabangya
Summary: Lee Minho has a fear of heights.Lucky for him, though, he also has eight people by his side to keep him grounded.(A series of short fluffy one-shots where all the members help Minho through his fear of heights in their own little ways.)





	keep me grounded

**Author's Note:**

  * For [randvmfandoms](https://archiveofourown.org/users/randvmfandoms/gifts).



**0\. now**

"I don't know if I can do this."

Minho bit the inside of his cheek. They were at the Statue of Liberty in New York City, after finishing their second performance at KCON New York. It was so different from their first KCON-- this time they weren't rookies opening the show, they were the big name group performing right before the headliner. The crowd was filled with their lightsticks and banners, and everyone knew their fanchants. It was exhilarating. 

And since they hadn't had a chance to do everything they wanted to do last year, the staff had given them a few days to explore New York. The members had a long wish list of things to do and places to see-- Chan wanted to go to Soho, Woojin and Felix wanted to try American fried chicken, and Jisung-- lovely, sweet, damn-you-to-hell Jisung-- wanted to see the  _Statue_ of _Liberty_. No, not only  _see._ Seeing would be fine. He wanted to climb the thing, and that was the problem. 

Lee Minho is afraid of heights. 

* * *

**1\. yang jeongin**

They waited on the ground and looked up at the water tower. It was so  _tall._ Even Jeongin was feeling nervous about climbing all the way up there. 

"Uwaaah, it's so high," Felix said, clutching to Chan's arm. "Do we really have to go up there?"

Chan squinted at the tower, then made a duck face at his kids. "It's not that high. And you'll be in a harness. So even if you fall off the ladder, you won't really  _fall_ fall." He wrapped his arms around Felix. "Besides, think about how cool the photos are gonna look. So grunge."

The others all murmured in agreement. Just then Jeongin felt arms squeeze around him, and a hand tickled under his chin. Minho.

"Our maknae will look so cute up there," he said with a big grin. Too big. There was something off about it. "Tallest maknae in the world!"

Jeongin giggled, but when he reached out to touch Minho's hand he could feel it shaking.

_Oh. That's right._

How could Jeongin forget? Minho always tended to cover up his feelings by teasing the others. _He's scared of heights._  Jeongin's own feelings of fear instantly disappeared. He knew he was the youngest, but there was just something about Minho that made you want to take care of him. It was the way he refused to ask anyone for help-- he just dealt with everything as best he could on his own, even if he suffered for it.

And Jeongin knew he was suffering now. The small hand he grasped in his own was cold, clammy, and trembling. 

"Hyung," the younger boy said, turning around to face him. He pushed himself gently into Minho's chest, knowing the older boy would reach out to wrap his arms around him and knowing that it would comfort Minho more to do that than being held would. He liked to give affection to others. 

"IN-nie," Minho replied quietly, putting his arms around Jeongin (as he knew he would) and rocking the boy back and forth. "I don't wanna go up there," he whispered.

Jeongin buried his head closer against Minho, wishing he could make all the space between them disappear. He wished he could make it so Minho didn't have to climb the water tower. But he couldn't. This was their job. All he could do was this: give him something to focus on, give him something--someone-- to be there for him. 

"I'm cold, hyung," Jeongin said, his voice muffled against Minho's chest. "Warm me up."

Minho smiled again, and it looked a little bit more genuine this time. He unzipped his padded jacket, then turned Jeongin around and pulled him against himself, zipping both of them up. Jeongin's arms were locked down against his sides inside the jacket, and Minho let out a giggle. "We're like a penguin!"

They waddled around, catching the attention of the other members who laughed and clapped and took photos. Everyone loved their little show, but before they knew it, it was time to go up.

Jeongin stayed zipped up inside of Minho's coat until the last possible moment. When it was finally time for Minho to climb, he squeezed Jeongin's hand. He wasn't shaking anymore.

"Thanks," he said. 

* * *

**2\. bang chan**

Chan eyed the bridge warily. It was made of rough rope and wooden slats, suspended high above the ocean. The wood looked slick and the roped frayed from the constant assault of salt water, but it was the only way to cross over to the island where they were supposed to film the next episode of The 9th.

He sighed, rubbing his temples.  _Am I really going to do this?_  As he wondered to himself, the wind picked up and sent the bridge swinging wildly, hard enough that one of the slats came loose right in front of him. He gulped.

Decision made, he searched the sea of staff for their director.

"Ah, Chan," the director said, happy to see him. "Are you guys almost ready?" 

Chan hesitated. He didn't want a reputation for being difficult. Reputation was everything in this business. But... 

"Were there any other locations considered for filming?" he asked. 

The director squinted at him. "We scouted a few, but this was the only one that had the right conditions."

Chan's heart sank. "So there's no other options?"

The director was starting to look a little annoyed. "Why, is there something wrong with this one?"

"No, no, it..." Chan's voice trailed off. This director was famous for being mouthy. If she didn't like you, she would tell people about it. Part of him regretted coming over here already. 

But then he glanced back at the bridge, and he thought about Minho. He could already picture how the boy would gulp when he saw it, how he wouldn't complain to anyone even though he'd be almost paralyzed with fear. The thought gave him courage. _If he can do that for us, I can do this for him._

"Minho has a phobia of heights," he said, looking the director in the eye. "Crossing that bridge is going to be really hard for him."

The director's face instantly softened. 

"Oh," she said. "Nobody mentioned that." She tapped her pen against her lips, surveying the crew unloading equipment in the parking lot, and checking something on her phone. Finally she spoke.

"I'm sorry, Chan, but I don't think we could make it to any of the other locations today. He  _can_ do it, right? It won't be dangerous for him?" She sounded genuinely concerned, and Chan was grateful for that at least.

"He can do it," Chan said heavily. "I'd rather not make him, but if we have to, he'll do it."

"Okay. Tell everyone to get out of the van; we'll head over soon." 

He bowed to her. "Thank you for listening to me."

"Of course." She paused. "He's lucky to have you, you know."

Chan shook his head. "We're lucky to have him." And he made his way back to his kids, already planning how they were going to get Minho through this. 

* * *

**3\. hwang hyunjin & kim seungmin **

"You two, come here for a second."

Bang Chan gestured to Hyunjin and Seungmin, who were sitting together. They clambered out of the transport van. 

Chan drew them away from the doors of the van so they were out of earshot of the others. 

Hyunjin and Seungmin looked at each other, curious. 

"Okay," said Chan, "I need your help. The only way to get to the filming location is that bridge." He pointed.

Seungmin immediately frowned. "Minho's not going to like that," he said. His fingers twitched at his sides, and Hyunjin's hand was instantly there to still them. 

"I know he won't. That's why I need you." Chan's eyes flicked towards their hands, then back up to their faces. "I know you three have been... close recently." 

Hyunjin blushed and Seungmin smiled. The members were all close, but of course not equally so. Everyone's relationship was unique-- and what that meant was up to each member to explore. Right now Hyunjin, Seungmin, and Minho were all figuring it out together. 

"So, yeah, he's not gonna like it. Do you guys think he'd rather go right away and get it over with, or would he want to go last?"

"Last," Hyunjin said without hesitation. "He'll need to steel himself for it, and he'd feel bad if he's holding everyone up." Seungmin nodded in agreement.

"Ok," Chan said. "I'll get him off the van next. Take him aside someplace and tell him about the bridge. We'll get all the equipment and everything across, and then you three will bring up the rear." 

A few minutes later, Minho was delivered to them. He hadn't yet seen the bridge.

Hyunjin took one of his hands and Seungmin nestled against him, making the older boy put an arm around him. "What's all this?" Minho asked, an easy smile on his face. Hyunjin's chest hurt at the thought of what they had to do. He knew Seungmin felt it too, he could see it in the tenseness of the boy's shoulders and the neediness of the way he pushed himself against Minho. 

Hyunjin drew the both of them into a hug. They were just the right height-- Seungmin was just the tiniest bit shorter than him, and Minho was smaller than them both. Hyunjin's chin rested easily on Minho's shoulder. "There's a bridge," he mumbled, squeezing them tighter as he said it. 

Instantly Minho stiffened. 

He pulled his humor around him like a shield, as they knew he would. "And you're only telling me this because we don't have to cross it, right? So we can be happy about how lucky we are." As he said it, his voice cracked.

Hyunjin felt himself tearing up. He couldn't help it. He was a very emotional person. It was bad enough when it was his own emotions, but this-- knowing a person he cared about was going to struggle and there wasn't really anything he could do about it-- was a thousand times worse.

"We have to cross it to get to the filming site," Seungmin said matter-of-factly. He didn't believe in sugar coating. It was one of the reasons the members loved him so much. Seungmin would tell you the truth when you needed to hear it, whether you _wanted_ it or not. He pulled out of the hug and led the three of them to a bench, a little ways away from the parking lot and the bridge. It looked out over the ocean. 

Hyunjin and Minho sat down on the bench, and Seungmin seated himself on the ground between Minho's legs, knowing his hyung would want something to cuddle and distract himself with as he prepared to face his fear. 

"We'll be with you," Hyunjin said.

"Every step," added Seungmin. 

Minho squeezed their hands tightly, but didn't say anything. He just looked out over the ocean. After a few minutes he began sniffling, and Seungmin worried he was crying but when he looked up Minho was just wiping his nose with the back of his hand. It was red from the cold.  _Cute._

"If I fall in, I expect both of you to dive in after me," Minho said after awhile. 

"I don't know how to swim," said Seungmin, "but I'd do it."

"Well I would just have to save the both of you, then," Hyunjin said with an exaggerated, fake sigh. "It's a good thing I've been working out."

Minho made a face at that, and they all laughed.

Their happiness was cut short when Chan came over to tell them it was time to cross. "All the equipment is over," he said. "It's just us four left. Jisung said he thinks he left his phone in the van, so I'm gonna go check for it. I'll catch up with you guys in a bit."

That was Chan's way of telling them they could take as much time as they needed. He'd wait for them. Seungmin's heart swelled, thankful they had such a caring, understanding person as their leader. 

Minho stood up first, and Hyunjin felt pride surge through him.  _He's so strong._ The younger boys stood up too, and Minho grabbed their arms. 

"Don't let go," he pleaded. 

"We won't," they promised. 

And they didn't. 

It took a long time. The bridge was unsteady in the wind, and every time it swayed Minho would freeze. Seungmin walked ahead, one of Minho's hands fisted in the back of his jacket, and Hyunjin walked behind them both with a hand steady against Minho's back. Whenever Seungmin felt a tug on his jacket he paused, waiting patiently until his hyung was ready to start walking again. 

When they reached the end, Minho's legs gave out from under him. Hyunjin just barely managed to catch him under the arms before he fell and lowered him gently to the ground. 

"You're okay," he soothed. Seungmin knelt beside them and smoothed the hair out of Minho's face. "You did great," he said, a big smile on his face. 

A hand appeared in front of them. Chan. 

Minho grabbed it and pulled himself to his feet. He looked shaken, but stable. 

Chan didn't say anything. He just clapped Minho strongly on the back, and that said everything. _I'm here for you. I'm proud of you._

Now a group of four, they went to join the rest of their team. 

* * *

**4\. han jisung**

He looked over the cliff and almost lost his balance. It was a long way down. 

They were at the beach. Not for anything in particular; just a rare day off they decided to share together. Minho, Jisung, Jeongin, and Chan. Chan had driven them here in a borrowed company car. 

"Let's jump!" screamed Jeongin. He was hyper after being cooped up for so long in preparation for their comeback. He hadn't seen the sun in days. 

"Race you!" Chan shouted back. As much as he was their leader, he was also still just a kid himself. He needed to let off steam sometimes too. 

The two of them raced towards the edge of the cliff and jumped off, shrieking. Moments later, Jisung heard the splash as they hit the water. It pumped him up and he headed back towards the bottom of the cliff to get a running start,  preparing to imitate his two friends.

But when he reached the bottom, he saw Minho. 

The older boy waved at him. "Gonna jump?" he asked. 

Jisung hesitated. He wanted to, but.. it would take them a long time to climb back up here from the beach below. Minho would be all by himself. 

So he smiled and shook his head. "Nope!" he said. He grabbed Minho's hand and pulled them both to the ground. "I'm staying here."

Minho smiled, and Jisung didn't care about missing out on jumping. He could do it later. "Bet I can catch more crabs than you!" he challenged, hands darting into the small tide pool in front of them. Minho shrieked and splashed him, forcing Jisung to cover his face. When Chan and Jeongin returned twenty minutes later, the two boys were already soaked, huge grins on both their faces.

* * *

**5\. kim woojin**

"Are you in Stray Kids? You are, right?" The staff member turned him around roughly to look at the back of the name jersey they wore for stage rehearsal. "Oh, thank God," she breathed, grabbing his hand. "Come with me."

She practically dragged him away down the corridor.

Moments later they were backstage, and she skidded to a halt in front of the stairs to the catwalk-- the narrow metal walkway above the stage that all the lighting controls hung from. "I sent him up there to grab a color gel for me, and now he won't come down."

As soon as he heard her he knew who was up there, and he was furious. "You _what?!"_

She looked shocked, irritated, and a little nervous, all at once. "There were no other staff around," she huffed, "and I mean, he _said_ yes, he could've said _no--"_

Before she could finish, Woojin elbowed past her onto the catwalk stairs. They were narrow and wobbly and creaked as he stepped onto them. _How did he make himself climb up this? Why didn't he say no?_

But Woojin knew Minho too well. He knew the other boy would never say no if somebody asked for his help, especially somebody they were working with. Minho would really rather give himself a panic attack than jeopardize his team's reputation.

Woojin was so full of adrenaline he nearly tripped over Minho before he saw him. The boy was curled up into a ball at the top of the metal stairs. He was shaking and gasping for air. Woojin rushed to his side.

"Hey!" he called down to the staff member. The catwalk was nothing more than a metal walkway suspended high above the stage. There was barely anything between them and the ground. No wonder Minho was having a breakdown. "Are you down there?"

"I'm here," she replied faintly. She must have been shouting, but Woojin could barely hear her from up here.

"You need to get the medical staff," he shouted. "I'll try to get him down."

He didn't hear any reply. He hoped she had run off to do as he had asked, but he couldn't worry about that now.

"Hey," he said quietly, kneeling beside his teammate. He reached out tentatively and put a hand on Minho's shoulder. "Minho, it's Woojinnie-hyung. I'm here. You're okay."

Nothing.

"Can you breathe for me?" Woojin began gently rubbing Minho's back. "Like in dance practice. We can do one together. I'll count, okay?" He began sucking in air. "One, two, three, four." He held it for a moment, then exhaled.

He put his ear close to Minho. His breathing was ragged, but he was no longer gasping. _Good._ "I know you don't want to stay up here, Minho. Let's go back down, okay? I'll help you."

And carefully, slowly, Woojin coaxed Minho into a sitting position. When the younger boy saw his face, he collapsed against Woojin's chest, sobbing.

"I know," Woojin said, gathering the boy into his arms. "I know, I know. It's okay. We'll get you down. I'm sorry you had to come up here." Tears pushed at the corners of his own eyes, thinking about Minho suffering up here all by himself. "I'm sorry we left you alone."

"It-it's not-- your f-fault, i-it's m-mine--" Minho could barely speak through his tears.

"Shhh. It's no one's fault. You're okay. Let's go down now, okay? I'll carry you."

"Y-you can't c-carry me. I'm t-too heavy."

"You are tiny and I'm going to carry you down the stairs. Wrap your arms around my neck."

Minho did as he was told, keeping his head buried in Woojin's neck the whole time so he didn't have to look down. Woojin stood and lifted Minho in one easy motion.

Going down the stairs was tricky. Woojin kept one hand on the railing for balance, but the other was holding onto Minho. The boy clutched desperately at his neck, and he reassured him the whole way down.

"Almost there," he said, slightly out of breath. "You're doing great, Minho. We're almost there."

When they reached the bottom, a medical team was waiting for them. Woojin set Minho gently down on the floor, but the younger boy wouldn't let go of the sleeve of his hoodie. Woojin didn't try to make him.

"He had a panic attack," he explained to the paramedics. "He has a phobia of heights." He glared at the staff member, who looked away, cheeks red.

The medical team sprang into action, fixing an oxygen mask around Minho's face and attaching a monitor to his finger. Just then, the backstage door burst open and the other members poured through.

"I need you all to stay back," barked one of the medics.

"No!" cried Minho, muffled through the mask. He let go of Woojin's sleeve to pull it off. "I need them," he said weakly.

The paramedic looked at him and then nodded. Permission granted, the members quietly filed into the empty space around Minho. They knew what he needed. Jeongin snuggled up into the crook of Minho's unmonitored arm. Hyunjin sat behind him, as if using his whole body to shield the older boy's. Chan stood off to the side, arms crossed, watching them all. Protective.

There was a coughing noise. It was the staff member from earlier; the one who had started this whole thing. She opened her mouth to speak--

And Chan cut her off. "Thank you for letting us know about our teammate," he said. His words were polite, but there was ice in his voice. "I couldn't find our manager on the way here. Could you please help us out and let him know what happened?"

 _Savage._ Woojin loved that about Chan. Technically he was being polite, so there was nothing she could complain about. But he had completely cut her out of the situation. And it had seemed like she wanted to apologize-- Chan was saying she didn't even deserve the chance to do that, after what she put their Minho through.

Making her explain what had happened to their manager was vicious, too-- she would have to tell him that _she_ asked Minho to climb the catwalk, which she definitely wasn't supposed to do. She would get in a lot of trouble for it. Despite his worry, the corners of Woojin's mouth twitched into an almost-smile.

He loved his family.

* * *

**6\. seo changbin & lee felix**

**"** Is that crying?"

Changbin lifted his head from where it rested on Felix's shoulder. They were watching a movie on the couch. 

He listened carefully, and heard a faint sniffling sound. "Yeah, I think you're right." He checked his phone. It was 1 A.M. "Where's it coming from?"

Felix disentangled himself from the other boy. Changbin missed the warmth of him-- they rarely got time to spend together like this-- but the regret was only momentary. If one of their members was crying, that was more important. "Sounds like the hyungs' room," he said. 

The two of them quietly approached the door and listened. With their ears up to the wood, they could clearly hear somebody inside whimpering. 

"Hyung?" Changbin called out hesitantly. He didn't know who was in there, but it applied to either one of them, Minho or Woojin. "Are you okay?"

There was no answer. Felix tried the door, and it swung open. 

"Hyung?" he called. The room was dark, but with the light from the hallway they could see that Woojin's bed was empty and there was a dark shape curled up in Minho's. Felix stood on his tip toes to reach the loft bed. Changbin was too short. 

"Minho, what's wrong?" Felix asked softly. 

The dark shape stirred and turned over to face them. He blinked in confusion, and his cheeks were wet.

"Huh?" he mumbled. "Felix?" Slowly, he sat up in bed. Felix quickly scrambled up the ladder and sat beside him, trying to touch as much of his hyung as possible. That was always Felix's first instinct whenever one of the members was upset-- he tried to get as close as he could to them. Arms, legs, hands; all tangled up together. 

Felix reached out and touched Minho's cheek. "Why are you crying?"

Minho blinked. He looked confused at first. "I- I had a nightmare..." As he remembered, his eyes began glistening in the darkness and he blinked back fresh tears. "I was back up on the catwalk at that m-music show."

Felix's eyes went big. "Oh. Are you okay?" His eyes darted around, and Changbin could see the panic in them. "Binnie, where's Chanie-hyung?"

Changbin climbed the ladder and joined the two of them on the bed. He sat on the other side of Minho and put an arm around the boy's shoulders, which also let him brush against Felix as well. "He's at the studio. But we don't need him," he said confidently. "We're here, Minho."

The older boy sniffed and rubbed at his eyes. "Sorry," he whispered. 

"Don't be sorry!" Felix said, his momentary panic already forgotten. "We just started a movie. You should watch it with us."

"I don't know... I don't wanna crash your movie date."

Changbin knew exactly how to draw Minho out of his shell. "We'll make a Minho sandwich," he teased. 

Minho instantly perked up. "Really?"

Both of the other boys nodded, grinning. "Really," they said together. 

Their hyung needed no further coaxing. Nightmare forgotten, he clambered over them and down the ladder, happily padding into the living room. By the time Felix and Changbin followed him, they found him sitting up straight in the middle of the loveseat, the blanket drawn around him and a huge smile on his face. He patted the two empty spaces next to him excitedly. 

Laughing, Felix and Changbin settled in next to him. The loveseat wasn't really big enough for three people, but that was the whole point of the Minho sandwich. They squeezed in together, Felix on one side and Changbin on the other, with their legs all tangled together. Felix was basically curled up in Minho's lap, and Minho was leaning up against Changbin. The smaller boy felt a little squished, but he didn't mind. 

The smiles on the other's faces were worth it.

* * *

**7\. now (again)**

**"** It's okay," said Jisung. "We don't have to go up if you don't want to."

"Yeah," Felix chimed in. "I don't think I could climb that many stairs anyway."

"We could just take a group photo and then go to Soho!" Chan suggested happily. 

Minho looked around at his members-- his family-- and love crowded out the fear in his heart. These were the people who had always been there for him-- would always be there for him, no matter what. They had proved it time and again. And he knew that if they were with him, he could do anything. 

"No," he said. Everyone turned to look at him. "I wanna do it. I want to go to the top with you guys. Just-- just don't let go of me, okay?"

Every single face around him broke into a smile. Jisung with his two front teeth showing; Felix with his big toothy grin; Woojin with that smile that filled his whole face; Chan with his dimples. Seungmin and Hyunjin smiled with their whole bodies, and Changbin tried to hold his back but he couldn't.  _My family._

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Jisung grabbed one of Minho's hands. Somebody else grabbed his other, and he felt an arm go around his shoulders and another around d his waist. "Let's go!"

With that, they all rushed towards the stairs. The people around him came and went, but not once did they leave him alone. 

And even at the very top, Lee Minho was surprised to find--

He was not afraid. 

**Author's Note:**

> This was a fic request for randvmfandoms~ I hope you liked it & I hope I didn't make it too weird with the little relationships!
> 
> I take fic requests ❤️ (no M rating for maknae line)


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